The Misadventures of Commander Shepard
by NorWal
Summary: The continuing tales of Commander Emily Shepard, the Paragade Earthborn hero of the Skyllian Blitz before and during the Mass Effect series. Most of the stories center around Shepard and Liara, though there will be stories featuring other crew members in the future. Each chapter will probably jump between games, but I'll try to be as consistent as possible.
1. Batarian Vodka

Commander Emily Shepard sat alone in the mess hall, a half glass of Batarian Vodka sitting in front of her. She stared at it blankly, hesitating for only a moment before bringing the glass to her lips and downing it in one gulp. Closing her eyes she shook her head; no matter how long she'd been drinking she'd never get used to the taste. With a sigh she grabbed the bottle by the neck and poured herself another glass, leaning forward on her elbows and resting her chin on her intertwined fingers.

"Um… Commander?" Shepard jumped slightly, startled by the sudden break from silence, and lifted her head to see the wide-eyed asari archaeologist standing a few feet away, looking concerned. "Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to startle you…" The Commander shook her head with a light smile and motioned for her to take a seat.

"You're fine, I was just thinking." She grabbed the glass and held it out to her as she sat across the table, shaking her head. Shepard's smile turned into a smirk as she held it to her lips. "It's only a little vodka, Doctor." She said playfully, taking a sip. They sat in an awkward silence, the glass resting against the Commanders lips as she stared at nothing in particular and Liara staring down at her lap. The asari cleared her throat and shifted nervously in her seat, catching Shepard's attention, though the glass never left its spot.

"Commander, is… is everything alright?" Shepard raised an eyebrow. Liara swallowed nervously and looked back down at her lap. "It's just… you… I have noticed that you sit here every night. Not-not that I've been spying on you! It's just. Notice… able." Shepard just stared at her, her expression unchanging as Liara shifted uncomfortably in her seat, staring at her lap once more with the same intensity as she would a Prothean artifact. Shepard took another drink from the glass before putting it down and leaning back in her seat with a shrug.

"I'm fine. This is just something I do." She said simply. "Helps keep the demons at bay." She smirked again, downing the rest of the glass before filling it up once more. She watched the asari for a moment, noting that her expression and demeanor hadn't changed. "Are you alright?" The archaeologist looked up in mild confusion before clearing her throat to speak.

"Yes, I'm fine. I'm- I'm just concerned." The Commander raised her eyebrow again as she took another drink from her glass. "I know you do this every night. I'm sure the rest of the crew does too. But in the months I've spent on the Normandy I've never seen you drink any hard liquor. And with what happened earlier on Virmire-" She stopped herself from finishing, looking back down and shifting again. "I am sorry Commander; you probably feel that I'm out of line…" By this time Shepard was staring at the contents of her glass, biting the inside of her cheek.

"Don't worry, you're not." She swirled the liquid in her glass before downing the rest and setting it down. "You're right. I don't usually…" She paused with a cringe, looking up at the ceiling as she searched for the right words. "…indulge in the hard stuff. Usually. I guess you can say this is just a different kind of drinking." She traced the rim of the glass with her index finger absentmindedly as she spoke, watching herself. There was a silence once more, more solemn than awkward, before she continued. "We lost a good woman today." She began reaching for the bottle's neck until she noticed the edges of her vision get fuzzy; her hand changed direction and she instead began rubbing her eyes, trying to correct her sight. The asari sitting across from her watched with concern etched in her features.

"It wasn't your fault Commander." At this Shepard let out a noise, half snort and half laugh. Liara frowned, insisting. "It wasn't. Gunnery Chief Williams…" She sighed. "Ashley was prepared for her sacrifice. She wanted you to assist Captain Kirrahe and the Lieutenant." Shepard let out a ragged sigh, rubbing her eyes again before running her hand down the rest of her face.

This time she poured herself another glass and readied herself to drink. She hadn't noticed the other woman move to the seat next to her until she placed a hand on her arm and squeezed gently. "Shepard." The Commander looked down, staring for a few seconds before looking up at Liara's face. They stared at each other for a while longer before Shepard let out the breath she found herself holding and sat back in her seat, nudging the glass in her hand towards the center of the table before placing her free hand over the asari's.

The silence shared between them was peaceful.


	2. Shore Leave

She couldn't recall when or how she'd ended up sitting in that red-lit alley just outside of Flux, with a half bottle of Hanar wine tucked under one arm and a half eaten ham-like sandwich in her lap. She looked around as the world spun around her, her eyes rapidly scanning the area around her to see if she could spot a familiar face; thankfully even in her happily drunk state she was relieved to find no one. It was unseemly for her to be out in public like this; the great Commander Shepard, hero of the Blitz, first Human Spectre drunk off her ass and kicked to the curb. This was definitely how she preferred to spend her birthdays. Not being shot at or engaged in hand-to-hand combat, but drunk; truly and completely drunk instead of buzzed, like she so often was onboard the Normandy. She could see it now, if someone, an ensign or engineer from her crew spotting her and hurrying back aboard to gossip with their friends; "No I'm completely serious, I saw her! She was sitting there giggling like a madwoman drinking straight from a wine bottle! She was eating a dirty sandwich! It's finally happened I tell you, the Commander's finally cracked under pressure!" Shepard let out a loud, high pitched noise at the thought, some kind of strange, strangled laugh.

She'd welcome the change, the chance for them to gossip among themselves that Shepard was, in fact, just another soldier. She was no hero; she'd simply gotten lucky on Elysium. She could've easily ended up like Jaime, slumped against a comrade riddled with holes, trying desperately to take in oxygen, clutching at a pant leg for some kind of leverage. The grin she'd been sporting moments earlier faded at the thought. Elysium had been… a disaster. And that was putting it lightly. Everyone in her unit, those who'd survived had been irreparably damaged by the experience, herself included. She still woke up in cold sweats over it. That had been the start of her drinking, or at least when it became a heavier, regular occurrence. Barely 22 and officially gaining alcoholic status; until she'd learned how to curb it slightly, how to handle it better so it wasn't **so** obvious. Shepard glanced down at the wine bottle cradled under her arm with a light frown before fumbling with the cork and taking a long drink straight from the bottle. Fuck it, she much preferred to be drunk at this moment. No one around to disturb her as her thoughts wandered towards the darker days of her career.

"Commander?" The soft, sudden voice caused her to choke on the liquid draining into her throat. She coughed violently; vaguely aware of her attempts to take deep breaths as she bent forward and gagged all over her sandwich. She was convinced some of it had made its way up her nose and wouldn't be surprised if it started leaking from her nostrils. When her throat finally cleared she sat straighter, inhaling deeply; never had the recycled air of the Citadel felt so good in her lungs. "Shepard!" She looked up at the tall woman in front of her as she fidgeted and wrung her hands in worry before letting out a throaty laugh.

"We really have to stop meeting like this Doctor." She wheezed, smirking up at her and squinting. She could've sworn she was talking to two of the beautiful blue woman in front of her, but she was convinced the universe wouldn't be so kind. She shifted awkwardly and planted the bottle in her hand firmly on the ground, attempting to use it as leverage to push herself off the ground; her attempts seemed rather graceful in her opinion, though to the asari in front of her, she was all flailing limbs and awful balance mixed with slurred curses. After what felt like an eternity to both of them she gave up, resigning herself to the fact that she'd just have to crawl back to the ship on all fours like a senile varren. The image left in her head, of the crotchety old animal in N7 armor hobbling around the Citadel and slamming into easily avoided obstacles, had her suddenly having a fit of giggles and she lowered herself to the ground, pressing her face into the tile.

To the archeologist, this looked like the start of Shepard finally losing her grip on reality. She'd never imagined hearing such a… girlish noise escape the other woman's throat. "How… much have you had to drink Shepard?" The question left her lips slowly; she wasn't sure she even wanted to know the answer. The giggling suddenly stopped as the human lifted herself off the ground, staring down at it with intense concentration.

"Besides this wine, maybe… 4 beers…? But Wrex-" She coughed and shifted again to look at Liara. "Wrex bought me these drinks… they were green and tasted like hot ass. I think I had 3 or 4… 6?" She lowered herself carefully until she was lying on her stomach. "You're… really, really spiny right now." She muttered. Liara frowned and let out a sigh, rubbing her forehead with a hand on her hip; she wasn't surprised Wrex had something to do with this; the two of them had become strangely close over the past few months, bonding over battle stories and weapon mods. She'd even caught them drinking together in the Mess one or two times, sitting at the same table silently and sipping at their cans in thought. The asari couldn't help but smile just a bit at image in front of her though; the Commander sprawled out on the ground in front of her, looking ever so vulnerable in her sorry state.

"Do you need help getting up?" She asked politely, trying to hide the amusement in her voice. Shepard just groaned and closed her eyes tight. Well, there was her answer. Silently she moved to sit next to her, sitting at the other woman's head. Within a few seconds Shepard had crawled closer to her and was resting her head in her lap, making a noise in her throat that sounded like a miserable moan as she laid a hand right above her knee. The sudden, close contact startled the archaeologist stiff, though Shepard didn't seem to notice as she wiggled around in an attempt to get comfortable. "C-Commander?" She swallowed past the lump forming in the back of her throat.

"Mmm." She blinked one or two times before turning to look up at her. Shepard's short black hair clung to her forehead, her green eyes were partially closed and she had the beginnings of a crooked smile tugging at the corners of her lips, making her look rather dreamy. Liara could feel the blood suddenly rush to her face and she was utterly convinced her face had turned a deep shade of violet. The smile widened. "You're lucky." Her speech slurred and she lifted her hand, lightly tapping Liara's nose with the tip of her finger and keeping it there. "I always wanted to be Indiana Jones."

Liara's eyes crossed as she looked at the finger before glancing down at Shepard's smirking face. "What?" The smirk widened further and seemed to stretch across her face. She was suddenly aware of the scar that split across her lips, pulling the flesh around it tight. How had she not noticed it before…?

"Indiana Jones. The archaeologist." Shepard's voice pulled her from her thoughts and all she could do was blink stupidly down at her.

"Indiana…" Her voice drifted off as the markings Shepard often mistook for eyebrows furrowed slightly. She wracked her brain for the name. "Was he a prominent human archeologist?" The Commander let out a bark of laughter, which caused Liara to stare at her with a stunned expression, before she replaced the face with a pout. A joke…

"He's a character from this vid I used to watch as a kid." She said finally, allowing the hand she'd kept at the asari's face to go limp; it fell back to her lap with a light slapping sound. "He got all the ladies." She said, chuckling. "He shot Nazis, stole priceless artifacts in the name of science. Ran from boulders and always avoided being crushed by them. Somehow… I wanted to be him when I grew up; traveling the galaxy and doing these wild things." The smirk became slack before Liara's eyes.

"But… don't you do that now?" She asked softly. Shepard made a noise in the back of her throat.

"I travel across the galaxy killing people. It's not the same." Her voice was very matter-of-fact but the smile still tugged softly at her lips. "Death follows me like the plague." The hand she'd been resting in Liara's lap moved to rub her eyes, and the asari couldn't help but suddenly feel very, very sad. She ran her hands through Shepard's dark hair out of a sudden and overwhelming need to comfort her; twirling a few short strands between her fingers. The Commander let out another noise, this one softer than the one that came before it; her hand went limp again. "How're you so nice?" She muttered, rubbing her cheek against her thigh. Liara's face suddenly felt very hot again. How was she supposed to respond to that? Was it a serious question or rhetorical?

"Do… do you feel well enough to walk?" Shepard blinked a couple of times and made a face. Slowly she lifted herself from the ground and braced herself pushing herself up into a standing position; she held her arms out for balance. The asari felt just a little cold by the loss of contact, but she pushed the feeling to the back of her head as she stood up herself. Shepard closed the distance between them for a second time, draping an arm across her shoulders and leaning on her for support. She smirked roguishly up at the asari as she held her wrist and wrapped an arm around her waist without a word; the pair took a few tentative steps forward, testing Shepard's balance. Even under the red light she could see Liara's face was still a light purple color. They walked silently, swaying slightly every few steps, until Liara cleared her throat. "Um… Shepard."

"Hmm?"

"You've got bread stuck to your pants."


	3. The Blitz

**Author's Note: Hey all! I just wanted to thank those of you who've chosen to read, favorite, follow and review this series of stories. There are so many great Mass Effect stories on this site, and the fact that anyone's reading these boosts my confidence as a writer. I'm on a bit of a role, thanks to the fact that this semester's almost over, and I hope to keep these chapters coming at least every week over the course of the summer.**

"_Poor thing. 22-years-old is young even by human standards." Two asari and a salarian stand huddled in one of the far corners of the long abandoned mine, various scientific equipment and tools scattered around them. The 96-year-old scientist sitting near them stopped typing with a soft sigh and frowned; she'd been trying to finish the weekly log for over an hour, but the chatter of her colleagues proved to be too distracting. "It's impressive though, I never would've believed one person could defend a breach against so many enemies." She looked back at the three, curiosity peaking at this last bit of information._

_She hadn't heard any news about what they'd been talking about; extranet access was minimal at best at the Quana dig site, and frankly she could never find the time to pry herself away from her work to keep up with current events. One of the scientists looked up, noticing her curious expression. "You've heard the news, haven't you? About Elysium?" She shook her head, causing her colleague to frown slightly. "Slavers attacked the colony there a couple of weeks ago. A human single handedly defended the breach until reinforcements came. Truly impre-" The conversation was prematurely interrupted by the sound of static coming from one of the older vid consoles._

"_-nd while Elysium was a major tragedy, we must remember that it could easily have been much, much worse, if not for the bravery of one Alliance Marine. We're here today to present this prestigious award to this individual." The voice coming from the console was one of great authority, the voice of a man who'd seen his share of battles. It drew the four scientists from the other end of the site to stand in view of it with their fellows; all were quiet as they watched. The man, who bore an impressive scar across the right side of his face, stood behind the podium; a smaller figure in dress blues hobbled out of a chair at the far end of the stage on crutches, making their way slowly towards him, holding them in one hand as they stood at attention._

"_Lieutenant Emily Shepard, we in the Systems Alliance have recognized your actions during the attack on Elysium as going above and beyond the call of duty. To call your defending of the breach courageous is a gross understatement, and it is my honor and privilege to present to you our highest honor, the Star of Terra. With this medal you are recognized not only as one of the best and brightest the Alliance has to offer, but as a true hero of humanity." He buttoned the medal onto her uniform and saluted, with the smaller woman following suit._

_The camera zoomed in on the young soldiers face as applause began to rise and the group watching couldn't help but notice how gaunt and pale she looked. There were deep bags under her eyes, a telltale sign that she wasn't getting much sleep and there were two large bandages adhered to her forehead and chin. The camera panned out slightly as the young woman proceeded to hobble her way behind the podium, resting the crutches against its side before placing her hands on either side of it, gripping them tightly. The applause died down and the instant quiet was almost unsettling. The young Shepard cleared her throat before beginning her speech. "Thank you Admiral. It's a great honor to receive this award." She paused, her jaw clenched slightly before continuing. "… We lost many good men and women on Elysium. Not only the Alliance, but civilians." Another pause, she seemed to brace herself. "I'm sorry, I'm not very good at speeches… I… personally lost good friends, best friends. Brothers and sisters in arms. If I'm being honest, I don't believe I fully deserve this award." She swallowed hard before lifting her head a bit higher, staring into the camera with a sudden, intense gaze. "While I'm no hero, I swear that I will do my best to represent humanity in a positive light, both professionally and personally. Those we lost will never be forgotten, by any of us, and I can only hope to do their memories justice as long as I live." Her head lowered once again, shoulders tense and knuckles white from the force of her grip. "Thank you."_

The memory had come to Liara in a sudden burst, brought on by the way Shepard had been standing in the cargo hold, hands on either side of the small table as she stared down at the datapad with intense concentration during the pre-mission debriefing. The memory of the live vid feed had stayed with her for some time after Quana, though she'd eventually pushed it to the back of her mind as she continued her work. It had been the first time she'd really seen humans outside of the little extranet searches she'd attempted in her scarce free time; the fact that it was an Alliance event seemed quite like quite the coincidence to her now, given that she was serving on an Alliance vessel.

She watched Shepard's movements closely, trying to find anything of the young, wounded soldier she and her fellow archaeologists had watched 10 years before, there was very little of her left aside from the intensity of her gaze and the slight limp she possessed due to a wound she'd received during the Blitz. The woman had looked so small at the time, practically drowning in all the cloth of her uniform; there had been no confidence in the unsteady way she'd walked to the podium, no aura of authority seemed to radiate from her. Instead she'd seemed… broken and lonely. But that had all seemed to change in the 10 years between now and then. Now she commanded respect without a word, her authority aboard the Normandy was absolute, though she, unlike so many others in her line of work, remained relatively personable towards her subordinates. She paid attention to her crew, talked to them and sometimes offered advice. It was admirable.

The asari watched the Commander as she dismissed the crew, allowing them to disperse and prepare for the next days mission. She held the datapad firmly in one hand and lifted a mug of coffee ("Shepard's Sludge" was the name Wrex had given it) to her lips, taking a sip as her eyes scanned the information in front of her once more; she seemed to absorb everything she read. She hadn't noticed herself staring until the other woman looked up at her, locking gazes. Her eyebrows raised in curiosity, the mugs edge resting against her lips as they stared at each other. It took a second for the archaeologist to realize she'd been staring and she quickly looked down at her lap, feeling her face grow hot. When she chanced a glance back up Shepard had turned her attention back to the datapad, a small smile on her face.


	4. Tu-fira

Commander Shepard didn't cry.

She'd clench her fists, tense her shoulders, grind her teeth, she'd get a twitch in her left eye or pace around the room, silently cursing. She'd learned from an early age that crying got you nowhere; it did nothing but make your eyes ache, make it hard to breathe and give you the hiccups. Crying was pointless, so she didn't, even if it made standing in the elevator on the way to Huerta Memorial that much harder. Her chest tensed as the door opened, the room seemed to slow down as her thoughts raced a mile a minute.

Commander Shepard didn't cry, but for the first time since Elysium she found herself praying. It was another thing she'd suddenly found herself not doing, another thing that got her nowhere. Praying hadn't saved John or Jaime or stopped the Reds from beating her until she was broken and bloody and near death. She'd stopped praying after Elysium, when most of her squad had been killed and she was left to drag who she could behind cover with a blown out knee and shoot those Batarian bastards so they couldn't destroy anymore lives.

Her palms were sweaty as she stood in front of the hospital door, she could hear her heart pounding in her ears and she felt herself get fidgety before opening the door to find Kolyat standing there, holding vigil beside his dying father. Her prayer continued as she moved closer to them; maybe this one would take. Maybe this prayer would be answered and Thane would live. She clenched her hands absentmindedly as they spoke for the last time. She stood next to Kolyat as they read from the prayer book together and she hung her head as she stepped out of the room. Her hands were still clenched as the elevator door closed. Her prayer hadn't worked.

Commander Shepard didn't cry. Until now.


	5. Physiology

"I… uh… used to be a pretty sensitive kid." Shepard offered, leaning against the wall of the med-lab, arms folded in front of her. She was trying desperately not to let her face flush as she changed the subject; somehow she and Liara had gone from talking about Asari culture to Asari physiology and the whole thing had ended up spiraling out of control. If she was being honest, she would have to admit that she'd found Liara's subject change intriguing up until she'd asked about Human physiology. That's where Shepard drew the line; she was not going to explain the birds and the bees to a woman more than twice her age. So, ever the smooth talker she'd managed to barely form a coherent sentence that was as far removed from the subject as possible, which would've been great, had it not been for the fact that she'd offered up a slice of her childhood. An embarrassing one, full of stories of wetting the bed and Sunday church and pigtails and dresses and slapping the altar boy who would make rude gestures behind her back; suddenly the birds and the bees didn't seem like such a bad talk… If she was lucky, maybe the archaeologist would find this topic too boring and suddenly decide that the Extranet was calling her name. Liara, however, seemed to perk up a bit at this little morsel of information. _Damn, my luck is shit._

"Sensitive in what way, Commander?"

"Uh, like… I used to want to be a poet." She wanted to look down at her feet and mumble something or change the subject again, but those blue eyes had locked in on hers and she found the words spilling out of her mouth like drool from a beagle. _Why? Why would you admit that?_

"A… poet?" Liara seemed taken aback by the statement and Shepard hoped desperately that she'd suddenly get a message on her omni-tool that she could use as an excuse to leave. No such luck again. The asari smiled at her. "I would never have thought you would be the poetry type, Commander."

"Well, I mean, I didn't want to BE a poet." She explained, frowning slightly. "I just wanted to… you know. Be a poet." Liara stared at her. "Like, an already established one. Like Walt Whitman or… well, just Whitman, I guess. A kid I grew up with stole a copy of 'Leaves of Grass' from a shop and decided he hated it, so he gave it to me for my birthday." She said, shrugging. "I liked it and decided I wanted to be him. In terms of role models he was the more realistic one. It was either Whitman or Jesus and all these impossibly selfless saints, so I figured I'd take the guy who wrote about dying soldiers and having sex in fields." Shepard cursed in her mind when the last few words left her mouth, though Liara hadn't seemed to notice as she looked away and brought her hand to her chin thoughtfully. _Well that was a seamless way to go back to the topic of physiology, wasn't it?_

"You… grew up in an orphanage, did you not?" She asked slowly, bringing her eyes to meet Shepard's. The human simply nodded.

"Saint Emiliani's. It was a Catholic orphanage near the Seattle slums." Her words were very matter-of-fact, something that surprised the other woman, though she wasn't entirely sure why. The tight clench of her arms loosened a bit as she spoke, Liara's cue that the Commander was relaxing somewhat. "Saint Emiliani is the Patron Saint of orphans. Not the cleverest of titles, but that's the Church for you." She shrugged. "Anyway, I ran off with a few friends when I was 14, and ran with some… unsavory characters until I joined the Alliance. It's all on public record, so it's not like it's a big secret or anything." Shepard said, waving a hand dismissively at her words. The mention of unsavory characters took Liara back to the encounter they'd had with Finch during their last visit to the Citadel.

"That… Finch man… was he one of those… people?" She chose her words carefully, regretting every word that left her mouth. The last thing she wanted to do was offend Shepard, though by the other woman's shrug she didn't seem to mind.

"Yeah, Finch was a little weasel even when we worked together. Good to see some things in the galaxy don't change." She replied, frowning slightly before once again waving her hand in a dismissive manner. "But you already know most of that; it doesn't take a whole lot of digging around to find any of that information." The asari looked down at her hands at the last statement, biting the inside of her cheek.

"Again, I am… I am very sorry about that Commander." She looked up as Shepard once again shrugged. The frown had been replaced with a bit of her crooked smirk.

"Just call me Shepard. And like I said earlier, it's fine. It's not like any of that's a secret. But if you ever want to talk or ask about something you think I'd know about, don't hesitate to come to me. I like having these talks with you, Liara." The archaeologist felt a strange flutter build in the pit of her stomach as Shepard spoke her name, and she looked down at her hands once more, a small smile on her face as she nodded slowly.

"Of course, Comm- Shepard." The two were silent for a time, both looking down at the floor as if it were the most interesting thing in the room, before Liara cleared her throat and caught Shepard's attention. "I can ask you about what ever questions I have that you would know about?" Shepard stared at her for a bit before nodding slowly, her mouth visibly tightening a bit. "Well… I am still very curious about Human physiology." _Shit._


	6. Kiss & Tell - Part 1

"Wait, so you really met up with the Consort?" The Commander moved the towel from her face and looked towards the source of the question. Alenko stared at her intensely, an eyebrow rose as he wiped perspiration from his chest. He turned a questioning look to Wrex, who simply gave him a stony smirk and let out a deep, chest aching chuckle. "You… you can't be serious! The waiting list to see her is insane!" Shepard simply smirked as she stretched her back and picked up a pair of dumbbells. The trio had turned the garage area of the Normandy into a makeshift gym to train in-between missions, complete with a weight set, dumbbells, pull up bar and punching bag. Kaidan frowned slightly. "I don't believe it."

"Don't believe what, LT?" All three heads turned to watch the four other members of the ground team walk in; eight sets of eyes scanned the scene in front of them. Two mostly naked humans and a fully armored Krogan was certainly an interesting image to walk into, it seemed like the beginning of one of Joker's many crude jokes come to life. Wrex chuckled again, causing all eyes to focus on him.

"The Consort." He said simply, the smirk still plastered on his face. Ashley's eyebrows rose as she began to nod.

"Oh. Yeah, that totally happened." Garrus let out a bark of laughter.

"You're kidding. Her client list is extensive; it takes months to even set eyes on the woman."All eyes save for Ashley and Wrex moved from Garrus to Shepard expectantly. The Commander simply stared back, the smirk still plastered on her face before she simply shrugged; the steady motion of the dumbbells never missing a beat.

"Then I guess there are some perks to being the first Human Spectre." Her expression widened at the words.

"Ah… well… how…?" Kaidan sputtered, he simply couldn't seem to wrap his head around the facts. Shepard let out a chuckle.

"I don't kiss and tell LT, it goes against my code of ethics."  
-

Shepard had seemed quite sincere about the subject in the garage, and that made Liara feel… strange. It was a weird, wrenching feeling in her gut, something she hadn't really felt before. It wasn't painful but it was uncomfortable, and it only seemed to occur when she thought of Sha'ira and Shepard in the same room. She couldn't help but feel flustered and only a little angry. The Commander hadn't mentioned what, if anything, had happened; and besides, whatever it was had happened before they'd even met. It was none of her business. But it didn't seem to stop her mind from wandering back towards the subject whenever she found herself with any free time. So, over the course of the next few days the archaeologist put as much intensity and concentration into her duties aboard the Normandy as she could muster while avoiding Shepard at all costs. Thankfully, the human Commander's abnormal sleeping habits and penchant for drinking alone had proved to be a somewhat reliable source for her to go on; she'd figured out a rough schedule of her habits and only dared leave the safety of the med-lab when she was sure the other woman had either decided to catch a quick nap in one of the sleeper pods or gone off to take a shower before anyone else woke up.

Liara would be the first to admit that she felt like a bit of a stalker; anyone with such an erratic sleeping pattern shouldn't have anyone watching them enough to know any sort of schedule they keep, but it didn't affect her as much as it normally would have, given the circumstances. It kept the two out of each other's way for the duration of their travel between the Horsehead Nebula and the Citadel. She did feel quite bad about it though; she'd specifically asked Dr. Chakwas to let Shepard know that she was busy if she came to talk to her. She had even asked for the med-lab to be locked during the day to ensure no visitors other than the doctor herself. There had been more than a few instances where Shepard had gone to the med-bay only to be shooed off by Karin and told to let Liara work in peace; the asari could've sworn she'd heard a bit of disappointment in the Commander's voice each time she left.

But, the distance she'd put between them certainly didn't last as long as she'd hoped; after about four days of travel the Normandy docked at the Citadel for a bit of shore leave, and Shepard had requested Kaidan and Liara as her shore party to accompany her on some "errands" she had to run. The archaeologist had felt a wave of anxiety come over her when she'd been called to assist her, and she couldn't help but dread the entirety of their stay. The "errands" Shepard ran seemed to consist mostly of the Commander informing various people of progress and finished business she'd helped them with, and over the course of the few hours her anxiety seemed to wane; there was no mention or hint that the Spectre would visit Sha'ira this time. By the time she'd informed an important looking man named Admiral Kahoku of the fate of his men Liara had completely forgotten about the other asari.

The small shore party stood in the elevator in silence as Shepard typed away at her omni-tool, checking off the Admiral's assignment and scanning it for any unfinished business she had before dismissing her subordinates. The music from the elevator hummed through the speakers as the two biotics watched the Commander, before Kaidan cleared his throat.

"Any more errands to check off Commander?" Shepard's eyes scanned the words on the tool before settling on the last item on her list.

"Just got the Consort, then we're through." Liara's heart plunged into her stomach at an alarming speed when the words fell from Shepard's lips; she'd been in such bliss up until this point. The sudden silence that came over the elevator was intense, and she was vaguely aware of Kaidan clearing his throat awkwardly in a vain attempt to clear it away. Shepard seemed less than aware of the sudden shift in mood when the elevator stopped; she simply flipped her omni off and exited.  
-

The two biotics sat awkwardly on one of the couches, staring down at their laps. Neither of them looked around, feeling much too awkward to even risk making eye contact with any of the Consorts acolytes. Kaidan cleared his throat again, a nervous tick perhaps, and scratched his chin; Liara fidgeted in her seat, swallowing past a lump in her throat. The Commander had walked into Sha'ira's private chambers five minutes before, and there was no sign she'd be out anytime soon. An acolyte walked up to the pair, a serene smile on her face.

"Are you two comfortable? Would you like anything?" They shook their heads violently; the acolyte gave a soft laugh. "Very well. Oh! Commander, I assume your visit with the Consort was pleasant?" The biotics heads shot up at the exclamation just in time to see Shepard walk towards them, her omni-tool once again active as she checked the last of her errands off her list. She looked up and nodded towards the acolyte, a crooked smile on her face.

"It always is."  
-

The artificial sunlight had been dimmed significantly since Shepard had dismissed her two very flustered subordinates after their visit to the Consort's Chambers. The human was leaning against the railing in the Commons, staring out at the lake as she smirked at the memory. It served Alenko right for not believing her in the garage. She'd let him know the truth eventually, but it was just a little too fun to see him get so worked up over something so trivial. She'd chosen her shore party for very particular reasons; Kaidan because she knew she'd get the reaction she was looking for, and Liara so she could finally speak with that woman. It had been nearly a week since they'd had a face-to-face conversation and she wasn't having anymore of it. She was quite fond of the asari, fondness that may or may not be bordering on something a bit more, and she couldn't help but feel a little hurt that Liara was very actively avoiding her. Shepard frowned to herself; the two had left in such a hurry she hadn't even gotten the chance to chase after the other woman.

When she really thought about it though, she knew it was probably her own fault. After the crew's jokes about the Consort she'd noticed the asari's unusually quiet behavior; she was well aware that she wasn't the biggest talker on the ship, but she had been exceptionally quiet while everyone was in the garage. She'd wandered off with Tali after a while, though the Commander had caulked it up to boredom. But that had been when the other woman had begun avoiding her at all costs, and when she realized that might've been the cause of this odd behavior she'd felt absolutely terrible. The last thing she wanted was to make any of her crew feel uncomfortable, especially the asari. Shepard made a determined face and stood straight, squaring her shoulders, that was it; she'd track that woman down and see what was going on. If the conversation about the Consort really was the cause of all this, she'd simply explain the whole thing away and hopefully that would be the end of it. With determination the Commander turned on her heel and had managed to march an entire step before walking face first into Liara.


	7. Kiss & Tell - Part 2

**Author's Note: Hey all! I'm really sorry for the super long delay with this chapter. I've been playing a lot of Dragon Age lately and I almost completely forgot about this project until just a few days ago. Hopefully you should be seeing a lot more productivity out of me from now on, since I feel more creative then I have in a while. Thank you again to everyone who's stuck around this long and for the wonderful reviews; words cannot express how grateful I am for the feedback and encouragement I get from all of them!  
-**

The collision had been more like nose to lips then face to face, given the height difference between the two. Both women had been startled by the sudden, somewhat violent contact between them and both seemed to regain their wits around the same time. Shepard looked up, Liara looked down and as soon as their eyes met both pairs widened. The Commander seized the other woman's arms as soon as she noticed her shift to start walking away and put her determined face back on; this was happening and there would be no way Liara could avoid her this time. "Hold it right there! You're not going anywhere until we've had a talk." The archaeologist froze at the contact, her shoulders stiffening. She was taken aback by the strength of the hands gripping her; given her size it wasn't hard to underestimate the Commander's strength, especially when she was around her alien crew members.

The pair stared at each other in silence; Liara's still startled face staring down at Shepard's determined frown. Their eyes were still locked as the Spectre slowly let go of her captive's arms, the other woman's shoulders visibly relaxing. In one fluid motion Shepard leaned against the railing behind her and crossed her arms, her expression remaining as she cleared her throat. "So, why've you been avoiding me?" Liara couldn't help but stare, before frowning herself and crossing her own arms, breaking eye contact as she looked off to the side.

"I-I've no idea what you're talking about Commander." Shepard made a strange noise in her throat that practically forced the asari to glance at her; that frown was still plastered on her face.

"You're a terrible liar, T'Soni. Come on, spill it. You haven't said a word to me since we left the Horsehead Nebula. Hell, I haven't seen you either." Liara squared her shoulders, determined not to speak. "Is this about the Consort?" Liara's frown twitched at the word. Finally, some progress. Shepard sighed, once again causing Liara to glance her way. The frown had been replaced with a look of sincere regret, which threw the asari off. Her shoulders sagged a bit at the sight; this was definitely a face she'd never seen the Commander make before.

"Look, I'm really sorry if that conversation made you feel uncomfortable in any way. It just came up in conversation when Wrex, Kaidan and I were working out. Then Kaidan started acting weird and I thought I'd have a little fun with him." She shrugged, the corners of her lips tugging down into a very slight frown. "And I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable earlier either, bringing you along. That whole thing was more for Alenko then anything; I just thought we'd finally get a chance to clear the air if I asked you to come with us. Again, I'm really sorry."

The Commander watched as Liara looked thoughtful for a few seconds, before the other woman sighed and her shoulders sagged a bit further; she shook her head and turned away. "No… no. I… I think I am the one who should be apologizing Shepard." She bit the inside of her cheek and looked down at the floor. "I should not have reacted the way I did after hearing about Sha'ira. What the two of you do in private is… it's none of my business, and the way I have been acting has been incredibly unprofessional. I am very sorry." She kept her gaze on the floor for a few seconds, hoping her apology would be accepted before swallowing past the lump forming in her throat and finding the courage to slowly look up. The human simply gawked at her with a raised eyebrow; she looked absolutely dumbfounded.

"What… what we do in… private…?" She asked slowly, trailing off a bit at the last word. The arched eyebrow steadily moved further up her forehead and the stare she had fixed on the archaeologist was as if she'd suddenly sprouted two heads. A strange, strangled nose escaped her throat as her mouth grew tight; her face began turning a brilliantly bright shade of red as her shoulders began to shake. The asari was almost completely convinced Shepard was about to have a seizure until she suddenly burst into laughter.

"You… you thought we were… when we went earlier?" Her words came out between wheezing breathes as she tried to stop herself, but all she could seem to do was double over. The archaeologist stared at her, not entirely sure what to say; she opted to simply keep quiet. It took a few more seconds for the Commander to finally compose herself, and eventually she cleared her throat, wiping tears from her eyes. "Oh man, I'm so sorry, but that's adorable." The woman took a few deep breaths before continuing, "Look, I'm definitely **not** one of Sha'ira's clients. She asked me to help her out with some rumors the last time we docked and that's what I went in for. Besides, I was only in there for like 5 minutes. That's not nearly enough time to get anything fun done." Shepard smirked at her last comment, noting the tinge of purple that had appeared on Liara's stunned face. "Now now, don't be embarrassed. It was an honest mistake. A hilarious mistake, but honest. I'm not desperate enough yet to get on a giant waiting list for one woman; come on, lemme buy you a drink. Maybe that'll quell that jealous little heart of yours."  
-

One drink turned to two, which eventually turned into eight between them (six of them being Shepards), the two eventually easing into easy conversation thanks mostly to the liquid courage they shared. The pair easily blended into the atmosphere of the bar as they sat at their table; Liara nursed her drink as the Commander took hearty gulps of her own, pulling the bottle away to speak to the asari sitting across from her, the crooked smile plastered to her face. The archaeologist returned it with her own, enjoying the sight of it; it was becoming a rare sight to see Shepard at such ease. She was always so caught up in her work, and it seemed to be taking its toll on her the closer they seemed to get to Saren. It was only natural, of course; the fate of the entire galaxy rested on their shoulders, but that knowledge seemed to be sucking the life out of their commanding officer. She had far less time to chitchat with her crew, her constant running around aboard the ship was beginning to take its toll on her injured knee (she seemed to be limping far more often now), and the datapads she seemed to be constantly glued to were beginning to add to her already numerous headaches, which resulted in the deep bags forming under her eyes. Liara suddenly noticed Shepard waving in her direction and she quickly looked behind her, the Commander let out a bark of laughter.

"You alright Doc?" She asked, her voice raised just enough to be heard over the music being played around them. The asari looked back at her with a bewildered expression on her face, causing Shepard's expression to transform into a smirk. "You've been smiling at me for awhile now. I figured I had something on my face until you didn't answer me." The archaeologist felt her face grow hot, a sensation she found herself feeling quite often around this particular human, her eyes dropping automatically to the half finished beer she had her hands loosely wrapped around. She swallowed past a lump that she suddenly felt form in her throat before speaking.

"I-I apologize Commander, I'm afraid I was lost in thought." She heard the now familiar chuckle escape the other woman's throat and clenched her jaw slightly before daring to look up. Shepard had her head resting against her free hand while the fingers of her other hand seemed to be tapping absentmindedly against the empty glass bottle it held; her expression had changed slightly, with the corners of her mouth tugged into a rather wide smile as she stared at the asari. Her face grew hotter and she silently thanked the Goddess that the lights that enveloped them hid at least some of the very purple hue her flesh always seemed to become under the others gaze.

"What've I told you about that T'Soni? When we're off the ship, it's just Shepard. Hell, even when we're just talking period." Her tone seemed like gentle scolding, though her expression never changed. Liara couldn't help but look down at her hands again, though she could feel a small smile begin to tug at the corners of her own lips. She simply nodded. The two sat in companionable silence, Shepard never taking her eyes off the asari as she nervously finished the beer she'd seemed to be nursing for most of the night. The realization that the bar was almost completely empty seemed to hit the pair at the same time and they departed, the silence lasting until they were out of the building and walking through the mostly empty commons that lead towards several areas that were normally of interest to the crew of the Normandy during the day. "You know, you never did answer my question." Shepard said suddenly, lifting an eyebrow and looked towards the asari. The taller woman blinked and stared at her for a few seconds, suddenly dreading whatever sentence that would escape the humans' mouth next. Taking that as her cue, she continued. "You weren't actually jealous, right?"

Liara stopped walking when she heard the question; her eyes widened and her breath seemed to hitch in her chest. That… she hadn't actually expected that one. She could feel her face flush in embarrassment and she turned to hide her expression as soon as she saw Shepard notice her sudden absence next to her. She could hear the Commander say her name over the sound of her own rapid heartbeats as her eyes scanned the area for an escape route; maybe if she just started running she could catch Shepard off guard long enough to hide in some deep dark corner until the galaxy exploded or something. Her body tensed automatically when she heard the other woman say her name a second time, this time a bit more carefully. The sudden wave of anxiety was steadily building, her chest felt heavy and somewhat twitchy and she had the overwhelming urge to start running until she felt a rather strong hand grip her shoulder and turn her around. The movement was sudden enough to force a yelp of surprise from her throat, which came out barely audible thanks to the lips she found pressed against her own.

It was an… interesting feeling. The kiss was tense and slightly awkward at first; Shepard's hand was still firmly planted on her shoulder, pulling down at it slightly to maintain the contact between them while Liara simply stood there, her eyes wide in surprise. She couldn't help but notice how the other woman had her eyes clamped shut, as if she were expecting something else to happen. After a few awkward seconds the Spectre dared to slowly open one eye, the asari's still bewildered expression the first thing she noticed. She instantly pulled away, letting go of the taller woman's shoulder as her face suddenly became a very bright shade of red. "I-ohgod-I'm so sorry." She said quickly, turning away from Liara as a hand rose to nervously rub the back of her very pink neck, the other hand went to her hip as she took a couple of steps away, putting distance between them as she attempted to stutter an apology. "I-I didn't mean… I-I must've misread that or something." A strange noise escaped her throat, something the archaeologist could only assume to be a mixture of a high pitched laugh and a whine. She noticed the hand grasping the back of her neck move to her face. "I… let's just forget that happened, I'm-I'm an idiot and not good at… feeli-" The human was cut off from continuing her nervous chatter as the taller woman suddenly seemed to appear in front of her and grab her face, pressing their lips together yet again.

This time it was different; the tense feeling between the two seemed to last only a few startled milliseconds. Both women closed their eyes as they seemed to ease into the feeling, Liara's hands released Shepard's face and seemed to wander down to her shoulders, then her ribs as the other woman's hands snaked their way upward, gliding to gently take either side of the asari's neck and pull her down just a tad. The pair took a half step forward, closing the distance between them and stayed that way for a few more seconds. As their lips parted they opened their eyes; green locked with blue as both seemed to go over what had just happened. A smile spread across their faces as they seemed to catch their breath at the same time before Shepard broke the silence.

"So, that's a yes, right?"


End file.
